THE LIVES OF THE PATRIARCHS #221 | THE LIFE OF MOSES #202
Pastor Christopher Choo
Lesson 3907
THE LIVES OF THE PATRIARCHS #221
THE LIFE OF MOSES #202
MOSES AT MT.SINAI#101
THE TABERNACLE OF MOSES ( Part 60)
THE TABLE OF SHOWBREAD IN THE TABERNACLE OF MOSES #14
THE BREAD OF AFFLICTION AT PASSOVER
Passover, the Jewish festival of freedom, is an extraordinary testimony to the power of ritual to keep ideals and identity alive across the centuries.
The Passover Meal in each Jewish household begins with the head of the house holding up a matzah, the dry unleavened bread that is one of the key symbols of the festivals, and saying, “This is the bread of affliction our ancestors ate in the land of Egypt. Let all who are hungry come and eat.”
In Aramaic this opening prayer is called Ha Lachma Anya (“this is the Bread of Affliction”). It is the first passage from the first section of the Passover Haggadah. It is at the heart of the Seder, the ritual Passover meal, where participants tell the story and read interpretations of the Exodus from Egypt.
Here is the full context of this prayer:
"This is the bread of affliction that our fathers ate in the land of Egypt. Let all who are hungry come and eat! Let all who are needy come and celebrate Passover! Now we are here, but next year may we be in the land of Israel. Now we are slaves, but next year may we be free." (Ha Lachma Anya)
This traditional prayer (Ha Lachma Anya), written in Aramaic, kicks off the Passover seder and the recounting of the Exodus from Egypt.
A child, usually the youngest present, then asks a series of questions about “why this night is different from all other nights.”
The rest of the evening is largely dedicated to answering those questions, retelling the story of the Exodus together with acts of eating and drinking that include the bitter herbs of suffering and the wine of freedom.
It is history made memory by re-enactment. For most Jews it is the way they learned, when they were young, who they are and why.
But the two features of the Bread of Affliction remain a puzzle.
1. The first is the conflict between the two explanations of the unleavened bread.
At the beginning of the story the Jews call it the Bread of Affliction. Later on in the evening, though, they speak of it as the Bread of Freedom they ate as they were leaving Egypt in such a hurry that they could not wait for the dough to rise.
Which is correct: a symbol of oppression or liberty? Surely it could not be both.
2. The other element that is strange was the invitation to others to join them in eating the Bread of Affliction. What kind of hospitality is that to ask others to share one's suffering?
It took me a long time to find a satisfactory answer.
Sharing food is the first act through which slaves become free human beings.
One who fears tomorrow does not offer his bread to others. But one who is willing to divide his food with a stranger has already shown himself capable of fellowship and faith, the two things from which hope is born.
That is why the Jews begin the Seder by inviting others to join them. That is how they turn affliction into freedom.
Freedom is not simply the ability to choose to do whatever we like so long as we do not harm others. It is born in the sense of solidarity that leads those who have more than they need to share with those who have less. Giving help to the needy and companionship to those who are alone, we bring freedom into the world, and with freedom, God.
